A Struggle Consumes Us All
by Shiguresfunbunny
Summary: Torn, broken, beaten down... feelings have been bared, and one night has changed their world. Will the Sohma men ever be able to get over their feelings for Tohru? Or will they let her become the wall between them? Rated for language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

**_That was one heck of a night_, thought Shigure as he sat down to finish his manuscript. It had been due two weeks ago, but he had put it off deliberately in order to tease a frustrated and quite tearful Mii-chan. _She's very easy to provoke_, he thought. Not quite as easy as Yuki had been, though. Shigure winced for a moment at the memory, but then smiled with satisfaction. Earlier in the evening, Yuki and Tohru-kun had been alone in the drawing room, playing a game of table tennis. Shigure had stood quietly in the doorway, looking on and listening to them laugh joyously. This was not an opportunity he could pass up.**

**"Ah, Tohru-kun, lovely to see you this evening," Shigure said as he stepped into the room, looking inadvertently at Yuki.**

**"I trust that you are having a good evening, Yuki?"**

**Yuki looked at him with all the haughtiness and contempt he could muster. _He's a natural born aristocrat, _Shigure thought, not the least bit put down. He continued into the room, standing just bit to the left of Tohru.**

**"Ah, and who is winning at the moment, my little flower?" Shigure looked beamingly at Tohru. She blushed a bit at the compliment.**

**"Well, Sohma-kun is winning at the moment,' she started out meagerly. "But I do plan to beat him!" Shigure looked up just in time to see the involuntary twitch of Yuki's lips. The wheels in Shigure's head began turning.**

**"Yuki, you are busy working on your midterms, are you not?"**

**Yuki, in a voice that dripped icicles, said, "Yes, I am, Shigure. I was taking a break and Honda-san was helping me." He looked for a second at Tohru, who was looking at the clock. He wished she wasn't.**

**"Sohma-kun," Tohru exclaimed, "You said we were only going to be playing for ten minutes! I am so sorry I kept you here so long!!" She looked terribly distressed. Yuki inwardly groaned and shot a dirty look at Shigure. He turned to Tohru.**

**"It's okay, Honda-san," he said. "Really. We can keep playing for at least ten more minutes. I don't think I'll suffer too terribly for that, hm?" He tried to speak as if he didn't care, even waving his hand nonchalantly in the air for effect. He was not going to let Shigure take his Tohru-kun away from him.**

**"But Sohma-kun, I really do not wish to impede upon your studies," Tohru half wailed. "I would feel horrible if you did not do well on your midterms on my account. So please, go back and study. We can play this another time." She started to back away. Yuki, fumbling for a reason, any reason, to keep her there, stood stammering and blushing, unable to find one.**

**Shigure, having baited the situation to this point, announced, "I do hope you have a good night, Yuki. Tohru-kun, I do have need of you in the kitchen." He started to walk away when the back of his kimono unexpectedly decided to stay behind. It was Yuki, and he was choking him.**

**"Sohma-kun?" Tohru said quietly. She looked thoroughly shocked and frightened. "What's wrong?" Yuki turned Shigure to face him, and stared at him coldly. He drew him close, and with a cool crispness to his voice, whispered, "This isn't over, not by a long shot." He held him back, gave him one more look of icy contempt, let him go and strode out of the room. Shigure's eyes stared in surprise at the empty doorway. He was inwardly laughing. _So,_ he thought, _Yuki does have a backbone. How interesting. He apparently also has feelings for Tohru-kun. Yes, this is all very interesting indeed._**


	2. Chapter 2

_That stupid ignoramus has no clue what he's in for. _

That was Yuki's first thought as he walked out of the drawing room, narrowly missing a wooden table laden with various glass objects. He paused there for a moment, staring at the table. In a moment of fury, he brought his left arm crashing down on the table, shattering it into nothing more than mere toothpicks. The crash was much louder, and the damage much more severe than he expected it to be. Then, he looked up and saw the reason why.

Standing amidst the mess was a tanned, muscled, orange haired figure breathing heavily and erratically. Yuki immediately recognized it as Kyo, who had been gone for a week for training in the mountains. He had apparently come through the ceiling and landed on the table. It reminded Yuki of the first time Tohru had met him. He shook the thought off and instead concentrated on hating the annoyance before him.

"I thought you were supposed to be gone for a year. What are you doing here?" Yuki's voice was caustically cool as he looked at his cousin, his rival.

"What the hell do you care? I just didn't feel up to it, okay?" Kyo's mind worked as he tried hard not to portray the real cause of his unexpected return. _Stupid rat, always thinking he's higher than everyone else and can get whatever he wants. Well I know one thing that he can't have…_

Kyo stood not six inches from Yuki's face and never flinched a muscle, the tension between them almost tangible. Both new exactly what the other was concerned about, but neither said a single word. As if on cue, Shigure walked right into the midst of the staring match. He suddenly took on a knowing air, explaining that he knew what was going on and that he would leave. He started out of the room.

Kyo grabbed him by the throat and pulled him towards them. "You're not going anywhere," he snarled. "I know you have it in for her, too."

Shigure was shocked. Strangled twice in one day? The odds were astronomical. But he simply said, "I don't know what you're talking about, Kyo." Just as the words came out of his mouth, a fist connected with his face. Spitting blood, and what he was sure to be the remnants of a chipped tooth, he looked up to see Yuki rubbing his knuckles.

"Don't bullshit me, Shigure. I know that the whole scene earlier today was to get me away from Tohru, er, Honda-san. You're a pig. Don't think you could take Toh—Honda-san away from me, ever." With that, Yuki felt a foot cross paths with his stomach. He grunted as he hit the wall.

Kyo yelled indignantly, "Your Tohru?! She's mine! She doesn't need you!" He tried to kick Yuki in the ribs, but Yuki dodged at the last moment and caught Kyo below the knee. Skidding along the glass littered floor, Kyo bounced up and lunged for Yuki's throat. Tackling him to the ground, Kyo began to wrap his fingers around Yuki's throat, but Shigure kneed him hard in the side.

"You two don't know a single thing about how to woo a woman!" Shigure yelled, just to keep the fight from dying down. "I can woo her properly, you can't!"

Yuki grabbed Shigure's neck and slammed him against a wall. "She's a girl, you sick pervert, and far too young and innocent for the likes of you!" As he said that, he felt a fist come around to greet his face. He grunted, reeling backwards, holding his nose.

"Yeah, and she needs someone like me, not some high and mighty, stick up his ass, goddamn pretty boy!!" Kyo shouted, ignoring the blood on his knuckles. "You're too damn concerned with yourself to think of her! Go fuck with your freakin' fan club! Leave her alone!"

Yuki, in a moment of blind rage, extreme guttural fury, screamed and tackled Kyo to the ground, and the two of them wrestled while Shigure stood with his back up against the wall. He would have been smiling if he didn't feel it would cause his face to shatter into a billion pieces. But all thoughts of smiles stopped when he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, stop!" Shigure ordered. "Stop now! There's something I need to tell you!"

Yuki and Kyo broke apart and regarded with a corrosive glare.

Shigure held his breath for a moment, and then said, "Tohru-kun just left the room crying."

There was a pain-thickened silence as they all stood in their shame.


	3. Chapter 3

"**Damn it!" Kyo punched the wall of his room. Moisture ran down his face; whether it was tears, sweat, or blood, he didn't know. He didn't care. He had come all the way back from training to let Tohru know that he loved her, and he had already made her cry without even talking to her! If that didn't make him feel like a douche bag, then nothing else would. Of course, it wasn't his entire fault. It was Yuki and that damned dog, Shigure. They'd both tried to take Tohru, and his whole life with her. He couldn't let them win; not again, not this time.**

**He hated his life. His whole thrice-damned life.**

**Yuki sat in his room, trying to study and take his mind off of the events of the evening. His mind kept drifting back to Tohru; he hadn't seen her cry, but he could definitely imagine it. Her blue eyes brimming with tears, her beautiful brown hair shrouding her porcelain face covered by soft, smooth hands. He felt so terrible; he had let his emotions get the better of him and his judgment. **_**This is going to kill me… **_**He covered his face with his hands and let out a sigh. **_**Damn you, Kyo. Damn you to hell.**_** He put his books away and turned off the light.**

**Shigure wanted so bad to go into Tohru's room and comfort her, but knowing the boys, (and knowing himself), he decided that was not such a great idea. So he was thoroughly surprised when Tohru-kun came to him, knocking softly on the already ajar door.**

**He stood and straightened his kimono and let out a deep breath. He walked over to the door and opened it wide. "Tohru-kun," he said. "What is the matter?"**

**She looked as if she was about to say something, but instead she ran headfirst into Shigure's abdomen, and resumed crying her eyes out. He put an arm around her, trying desperately to not wish the curse still worked so that he could transform and not have to say anything. Seeing her cry tore his heart out, and not knowing the words to make her feel better killed it.**

"**It'll be okay, Tohru-kun. They're just.. umm.." She looked up at him with eyes so full of hurt and sadness that he couldn't find anymore words to say.**

"**Why do they have to fight?" Her voice was filled with the strain of someone in deep agony. It undid him. **

**He leaned down and hugged her tightly, like a father would do to a little child. "It will all be okay, Tohru, I promise. They won't fight again, anymore. Now stop crying, okay?" He flicked her nose. She gave him a little wavering smile. It was a start.**

**After Tohru left, Shigure sat down on his bed, and cradled his head in his hands. **_**I thought this would all be simple and funny. I never meant for Tohru to get hurt by it…**_** He slammed his fist down on a nearby book, scattering papers through the air.**

"**Damn it."**


	4. Chapter 4

Kyo stood by the door, hand poised and ready to knock. Talking to Tohru was one thing; apologizing to her was a completely different one. Taking a deep breath, he bent his wrist back, only to notice a presence next to him all of a sudden. The presence seemed to be surprised as well.

Yuki, with his hand also poised to knock, looked from his fist to Kyo's, and then asked, albeit belatedly, "What are you doing here?"

Slightly confused for a moment as well, Kyo popped the question at the same time, give or take a few adjectives. He'd been trying to avoid the rat all day, and yet here he comes again! _Doesn't he know when to stop!?_ thought Kyo.

Yuki stared silently at Kyo, guessing that they both shared the same reason for being at Tohru's door that evening. Throughout the whole day, Tohru had been quiet and withdrawn, keeping mostly to her room unless she was to cook or clean. She greeted them with polite smiles and kept all conversation to a minimum. Damn, but they had upset her!

Suddenly, Kyo said, "Look rat, we're both here to apologize, and if we make a scene, it'll just make her feel worse." He was trying to offer something, but couldn't quite bring himself to say something so... sissy-like.

"Are we calling a truce then, or what?" asked Yuki. He tried to sound somewhat irritated, but in truth, he was happy Kyo had suggested the idea. The thought of upsetting Tohru yet again was much more than he could bear, especially if Kyo made a scene. He might have been forced to kill him.

They looked at each other for a while, not saying a word. It seemed they were both trying to analyze the other. Finally satisfied, they nodded and were going to knock on the door at the same time, when suddenly it opened. Kyo's fist stopped just short of a small brown head.

"Y-Yuki, Kyo," Tohru stammered. It was apparent that she had still been crying. "I'm sorry, I di--"

"Don't apologize, Honda-san," Yuki said.

"Yeah, it's us who should do the apologizing," added Kyo. "We're really uh, sorry for what happened the other day, and uh, umm..."

"We promise," Yuki interjected, "that we will never fight like that again. So don't cry, Honda-san." Yuki almost reached his hand forward to touch Tohru's cheek, but decided against it. Kyo, on the other hand, made no such restrictions. Caressing her face softly, he felt Yuki's jealous glare, but did not care.

"I promise," he whispered. Tohru closed her eyes and shed a few more tears. Yuki cleared his throat, and Kyo removed his hand.

"Thank you both very much," Tohru stated. Her voice quavered a little, and she began again, "I know that it must have been really hard for you two to come to an agreement, but please don't feel like you have to apologize and stop fighting on my account. I think I just took it out of proportion, and--"

Yuki and Kyo both put their finger over Tohru's mouth.

"No," said Yuki. "Don't say that, Honda-san."

"We were very wrong," said Kyo quietly. "We should have never made you feel that way."

Yuki and Kyo exchanged glances, and, giving a little half smile to Tohru, gave a simultaneous statement:

"We love you."


End file.
